Gun-sighting mechanism



Aug. 19, 1924. 1,505,083 R. s. BLAIR GUN SIGHTING MECHANISM Filed July 2, 1918 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ifllllllllllllllllllllm'iilfllllllllllllllllllllllllll Aug.- 19. 1924.

R. s. BLAIR GUN SIGHTING- MECHANISM Filed July 2, 1918 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Elwuemtoz R .55191 2 amount of alteration.

Patented Aug. 19, 1924. '7

PATENT OFFICE. 1

ROBERT S. BLAIR, OF SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

GUN-SIGHTING MECHANISM.

Application filed. July 2,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT S. BLAIR, a citizenof the United States of America, residing at South Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gun-Sighting Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to gun sighting mechanism, and more particularly to mechanism used in pointing or training relatively heavy permanently mounted guns as in the Navy or in coast defense fortifications. While it is possible that various features of the invention are equally applicable to field artillery, howitzers, and the like, the invention, however, will be hereinafter described with relation to its application to a six-inch rapid fire gun, such as is used in the broadside battery of a battleship. The terms pointing or training, as hereinafter used in the specification or claims are to be considered more in their broader significance to denote the sighting of the gun rather than being limited to their technical meaning.

One of the objects of the present invention .is to provide a gun with a simple and practical mechanism whereby the gun may be sighted on the target rapidly and accurately. Another object is to provide a mechanism of the above general type having relatively few parts which may be inexpensively manufactured and assembled and applied to guns now in general use with a minimum A further object is to provide mechanism of the above general character which will transmit the manual power employed for sighting guns through certain power multiplying and speed multiplying devices to obtain the most efiiciency in the laying of the gun on the target.

Other objects will be in part obvious from the annexed drawings and in part indicated in connection therewith by the following analysis of this invention.

1918. Serial No. 243,007.

erence denote COIIGSPOllCllDJ parts throughout all the views, of which F igure 1 1s a slde elevation of a portion of a six-inch gun and its deck mount similar to those now in general use on board battleships with one form of the invention applied thereto for training the gun.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a form of mechanism used in-pointing or elevating =71 the gun and applied to the opposite-side of,

the same gun shown in Fig.-. 1.

Referring now to Fig. 1 in detail, 5 denotes a gun supported 1n trunnions 6 ona suitable mount 7 which is adapted to rotate relative to a fixed base 8 secured to the deck or ground, in the usual manner. This gun is of well known construction and is provided with sights 10, shoulder braces 11,

platforms 12 rotatable with the gun, and

upon which the gun sighters stand.

There is provided a pedestal 13 at each side adjacent the gun having a seat 14 for the operator, which, of course, may be adjustably mounted, if so desired, and in front of the pedals.

On the crank shaft 15 is positioned a small beveled gear 20 meshing wit-h a second beveled gear 21 carried at one end of a shaft 22 nearly uniform movement to the rotation mounted in suitable bearings .28, as may' be necessary to hold it in proper relative position. The opposite end of this shaft 22 carries a beveled gear 24 meshing with gear teeth 25 on the periphery of a clutch disk 26. Extending transversely across the face i of this disk 26 isa shaft 27 mounted in suit able bearings 28 and having a Wormvgear 30 at one end meshing with a gear on the upper end of a shaft 31. The lower end of this shaft 31 is equipped with a pinion .32

meshing with a circular rack 33 extending about the stationary base 8 of the gun mount.

On the shaft 27 is a ooacting clutch mem-. ber or disk 34c having a slidable but nonrotatable connection by means of a spline 35 with the shaft 27. The central part 36 of the disk 26 is depressed whereby as the clutch member 34: is moved to central or neu-. tral position no power will be transmitted with his feet on the pedals,

from the disk through the shaft 27. This clutch member 34 is actuated in any desired manner such, for example, as by means of a rod 37 provided with a handle 38 and having a loose or trunnion connection at 40 with a collar on the clutch member 34. Adjacent the handle 38 is the trigger or firing mechanism 41.

This device may be operated in somewhat the following manner: Assume that the gun trainer is seated on the saddle 14 drivin them in a general forward direction as though he were riding a bicycle. This motion or power is transmitted through the shaft 22 to disk 26. The relative position of the clutch member 34 with respect to the center of the disk will determine the rate of movement and direction of rotation of the shaft 27. Thus, when the member 34 is at the extreme right of the center, the gun will be trained very rapidly in one direction while when at the extreme left the gun will be trained equally rapidly in the opposite direction. In central or neutral position the pedals may be driven at the same speed, but the gun will remain stationary. The rate and direction of movement of the gun may in this manner he very easily controlled by one hand, while the other hand is free to actuate the firing mechanism 41 at the mo ment when the gun is laid on the target. The operator may practically disregard the move-ment of his feet and by reason of the power multiplying devices and speed multiplying devices all of the power and speed desired may be easily obtained.

The mechanism disclosed in Figure 2 while shown as applied to the gun elevating or pointing mechanism, it will, of course, appear clear to those skilled in the art that it would be a simple matter to adapt itto the training mechanism. The gun mount, base, sight, etc. have been described in connection with Fig. 1, which shows the opposite side of the gun. A suit able pedestal or support 41 is provided upon platform 12 preferably carrying a separate crank shaft 42 provided with pedals 43 adapted to be engaged by the feet of the pointer when seated upon the saddle 14 although both pedal shafts could be connected with each other. A shaft 44 extends diagonally upwards and is provided at one Thus, as the pinions or gears 52 and 53 are rotated the gun will be moved upwardly or downwardly according to the direction of rotation. The clutch member 47 is, of course, splined upon the shaft 48 and is actuated in any desired manner as by means of a lever terminating adjacent a stationary hand grip 56. The operator by exerting pressure upon the free end of this lever 55 will cause the clutch 47 to move into gradual engagement with the member 46 whereby the shafts 44 and 48 will rotate together and at proportional or the same speed according to the slippage. ()n releasing the pressure the clutch will slip out of engagement or into the position shown in the drawings. Spring means may 'be applied as desired to increase or decrease the clutching action, as necessary. Any variation in pressure will transmit power from the shaft 44 to the shaft 48, as desired according tothe slippage of the clutch controlled by such pressure.

In operation, the gun pointer is seated upon the saddle with his feet engaging the pedals 43 and according to the direction of rotation of the pedals the gun is raised or depressed, as desired. The rapidity with which the gun is moved, of course, is determined by the slippage of the clutch members 46 and 47 which is at all times under the control of the hand of the operator.

It is, of course, to be understood that these mechanisms operate in conjunction one with the other and when the pointer and trainer both have the gun laid upon the target so far as their respective lines of observation are concerned, they actuate the firing mechanisms to complete the circuit to the electric primer in the usual manner. lVhen the circuit is closed at both points the gun is fired.

From the above, it will be clear that the present invention is of simple and practical character and various modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. 'The principle of the invention resides more particularly in the utilization of power for pointing or training a gun in connection with hand control means for varying the rate of change of position of the gun independently of the rate of movement of the main power, thereby at the same time leavingone hand free to actuate the firing mechanism when the gun is on the target. The devices are of relatively inexpensive construction and either could easily be applied to the gun training and pointing mechanisms now in general use without material modification.

Vithout further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of this invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting certain features that, from the standpoint of the prior art,

fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and therefore such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, gun-pointing means, a rotary member, a pair of foot pedals with cranks connected to rotate said member by foot power, a speed-controlling device, powertransmitting means leading from said rotary member through said speed-controlling device to said gun-pointing means, and a manually controlled member adapted to determine by its position the speed of acutation of said gun-pointing means with a given speed of actuation of said foot pedals.

2. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, gun-pointing means, a rotary member, a pair of foot pedals with cranks connected to rotate said member by foot power, a reversing device, power-transmitting means leading from said rotary member through said reversing device to said gunpointing means, and a manually controlled member adapted upon actuation from one position to another to reverse the direction of drive of said gun-pointing means with a given direction of actuation of said foot pedals.

3. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, gun-pointing means, a rotary member, a pair of foot pedals with cranks connected to rotate said member by foot power, power-transmitting means leading from said rotary member to said gun-pointing means, means interposed in said powertransmitting means adapted to vary the speed and direction of drive of said gunpointing means with a given speed and direction of actuation of said foot pedals, and a manually controlled member adapted to determine by its position the speed and direction of drive of said gun-pointing means.

4. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, gunpointing means, a rotary member, a pair of foot pedals with cranks connected to rotate said member by foot power, a hand support adapted for use during the operation of said foot pedals, powertransmitting means leading from said rotary member to said gun-pointing means, a manually controlled means interposed in said power-transmitting means and controlling the power applied to said gunointing means, a reversing device interposec in said power-transmitting means adapted upon being set in one position to actuate said gunpointing means in one direction, and upon being set in another position to actuate the same in another direction, and means adapted manually to move said member from one to the other of said positions.

5. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, gun-pointing means, a rotary member, a pair of foot pedals with cranks connected to rotate said member by foot power, a hand support adapted for use during the operation of said foot pedals, powertransmitting means leading from said rotary member to said gun-pointing means, a manually controlled means interposed in said power-transmitting means and controlling the power applied to said gun-pointing means, and a device interposed in said power-transmitting means comprising a pair of rotary members, one of which is driven from said first rotary member and the other of which is connected with said gun-pointing means, the members of said pair having their axes arranged transversely one to the other and being so mounted as to make a frictional engagement with one member at a variable'distance from the axis of the other member, and means adapted manually to move one of said members across the face of the other member and thereby vary the direction and speed of drive of said gun-pointing means with a given direction and speed of drive of said foot pedals.

6. In combination with a gun, a mount therefor, means for pointing ordnance comprising a pedal shaft and pedals associated therewith, a saddle upon which the pointer is adapted to be seated while operating the pedals, a pair of stationary hand grips 1n front of the operator, firing mechanism associated with one of said grips, and means associated with the other adapted to control the rate of movement of the gun irrespective of the rate of movement of the pedals.

7. In combination with a gun, a mount therefor, means for pointing ordnance comprising a pedal shaft and pedals associated therewith, a saddle upon which the pointer is adapted to be seated while operating the pedals, a pair of stationary hand grips in front of the operator, firing mechanism as sociated with one of said grips, means associated with the other adapted to control the rate of movement of the gun irrespective of the rate of movement of the pedals, and a clutch member interposed between the pedal shaft and gun adapted to be actuated by said last mentioned means.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ROBERT S. BLAIR. 

